Zeus opened
the door to his office and yelled at Pandora. “I told you not to open that
box. Now we’ll never get rid of those things.”

She wiped
at the tears falling down her rosy cheeks. “I didn’t mean to. I was putting
the box away and it slipped from my hand. When it hit the floor, the lid
popped open and those horrible little creatures fell out. I tried putting
them back, but they kept wiggling through my fingers.” She shuddered.
“They’re disgusting.”

He rolled
his eyes. “Of course they are. I spent a millennium making sure they never
escaped and you waltz into my office and ‘accidentally’ set them free.”

Pandora
sputtered with indignation. “I was dusting your shelves like you asked me to
do.” She mumbled the next comment under her breath. “Who puts something evil
in a tiny box and then stores it on the top shelf anyway?”

Zeus arched
a brow at her. “Don’t stand there crying about it. We need to catch them and
put them back in the box before they escape Mount Olympus and destroy
Earth.”

Her gaze
grew round. “Oh no!” She scurried across the floor and scooped a couple of
the creatures into a box. Turning toward Zeus, she put her hands on her hips
and demanded, “Don’t just stand there. Help me gather these things.”

“Oh…right.”
Zeus lifted the corner of his desk and grabbed one of the creatures and
tossed it into the box that Pandora held open for him. “I know there are
more of these things.” He caught a movement out of the corner of his eye and
grabbed another creature.

Pandora
shrieked and lifted her skirts as a couple of the creatures ran under her
feet.

Zeus
scooped them up with the box. “Thought you could get away from me did you?”

“These
things give me the creeps.” Pandora looked around the room and under the
desk. “I see one. Quick! Hand me the broom and I’ll flush it out.” She
grabbed the handle from Zeus’s outstretched hand. “I see three of those
little creatures huddled in the back of the corner.” Shoving the bristles
under the cabinet, Pandora squealed when the three creatures yanked her hair
over her eyes and ran past Zeus.

“Pandora!
They’re getting away.”

She
clutched her skirt to keep the material from tripping her as she stood.
“You’re the god of lightning.” Pandora waved her hands frantically in the
air. “Throw some bolts or something.”

Zeus drew
back his hand and flung a bolt at the door. He missed. Flames and smoke
filled the entryway, but the creatures jumped through the fire and ran out
of the palace.

Their tiny
feet scampered down the side of Mount Olympus, fleeing toward Earth. When
the coast was clear, the creatures snuck aboard a wooden raft, all the while
hiding from Charon the ferry man, as they crossed the river Styx.

Pandora
stood at the top of Mount Olympus with Zeus at her side and watched the
creatures make their escape. “They got away. It’s only three of them. How
much damage can three of them do?”

“I don’t
know. I hope not much.” Zeus led Pandora away from the edge to help her
secure the box and put it in a safe place. Doubt dogged his every step.

Thousands
of years later, Pandora looked down from Mount Olympus and sobbed. The three
creatures that had fled so long ago spread their chaos, disorder and mayhem
upon Earth. They multiplied. Their offspring spread to the far corners of
the planet. Waste from their uncontrollable desires filled the rivers,
streams and air. No species was safe from their destructive greed.

Zeus put
his arm around Pandora’s shoulder. “It is far worse than I feared. The
creatures have destroyed the world.”

“I wish I
hadn’t cleaned your office that day.”

“There is
nothing we can do about it now. All we have left is the hope that they will
learn to take care of Earth before it’s too late.”

She shook
her head. “I don’t think that will ever happen.”

Together
they turned away from the edge to join the other god’s who were afraid to go
near the humans who had destroyed everything they touched.

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